


Full Disclosure

by SabineFlamingo



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-11
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-25 00:56:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2602628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SabineFlamingo/pseuds/SabineFlamingo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate way that things could have happened in Full Disclosure when C.J. went to Hoynes to fire a warning shot when his story threatens the reputation of President Bartlet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Preemptive Strike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny has discovered Hoynes has a bigger plan than just a book deal and tries to stop C.J. and The White House from falling into his trap.

“Hey, Danny, what are you doing here so late?” Toby Zeigler asked the scruffy faced Washington Post Reporter who looked like he had some place to be.

“I need to talk to C.J.” Danny Concannon's voice was urgent, his walk didn’t slow so Toby had to following him through the White House at a quick pace.

“She went to talk to Vice President Hoynes. Why, what’s up?”

“I’ve been hearing rumors.” Danny confessed, turning toward Toby and halting his beeline to C.J.’s office.

“Concerning what?”

“This book that Hoynes is writing. He isn’t just writing a smear campaign, he is sprinkling information to the press to make a bed for the book and a path to being nominated as the Democratic candidate in the next election.” Danny spoke quickly, trying to get it all out.

“What information?” Toby asked, closing the gap between them further and tilting his head in confusion.

“That the President may have known about the affair with Helen Baldwin long before he was caught and that-” Danny stopped short, liking this part of the story the least, “It wasn’t the only affair. He hints that some might still be ongoing. He has something against every senior staff member. He is trying to make the administration look bad before the book comes out, probably to support the accusations that will be in it.”

“Which is why C.J. went to see him." Toby said, dismissively, though his concern was growing, "What have you heard?”

There was a pause between them. Danny hadn’t planned on telling Toby what he knew and he also suspected that Toby was unlikely to include the reporter in the loop, “You guys are going on the offense, right? She went there with something you have on him.”

Toby balked, but Danny had information he wanted and so he had to give something, “They’re just having a conversation, trying to keep us all friends.”

“And if he doesn’t want to be friends?”

“He has nothing to write that will be damning to this administration.”

Danny sighed, “Yes, he does. Rumors have been coming out of the woodwork about Leo, Josh, you…C.J., and the President.”

“Unsubstantiated rumors.” Toby insisted.

“When has it ever mattered whether or not they're unsubstantiated? He was the Vice President, he was in the know, people will believe him.” Danny countered, “They take the truth and twist it just enough to make a lot of trouble. Josh’s therapy has turned into he can’t sleep so he is addicted to sleeping pills. Andi and the twins have turned into a Jerry Springer special. The President wanted to cover the affair and C.J. has an ongoing relationship with Hoynes.”

Toby was frozen for a moment, clenching his jaw, “What are they saying about Andi and the twins?”

“That she lied about her condition during the election, that you’ve intimidated her about marrying you again, and that they aren’t yours.” Danny repeated reluctantly.

Toby sighed, trying to hide his growing anger, “That’s why we sent C.J. to talk to him.”

“Which will look like she’s there to sleep with him. He’s made sure of that.” Danny said, coming full circle to explaining why he was there, “That’s why I wanted to talk to her, to stop her from going to see him. There’s a reporter outside his office building, waiting. He set up a tip that she might be making a conjugal visit tonight. She’s going to get bombarded coming out of there.”

“I’ll call her.” Toby offered, heading back to his office.

“I already tried that. No answer.” Danny called after him, "How long has she been gone?"

Toby sighed heavily before grabbing his coat from his office and leading Danny outside, "Long enough for us to be too late to stop her from seeing him."

 

~~~

C.J. Cregg took a breath of preparation before stepping into the former Vice President’s office. She made sure her face and posture were confident. Hoynes whispered something to his assistant before greeting The White House Press Secretary.

“Hey, C.J., great to see you.” Hoynes greeted, airily, getting up from his desk and walking over to her. He made a motion as if his greeting might be warmer, but her cool aura halted it.

C.J.’s tone was all business, “Mr. Vice President.”

Hoynes waved it off, “Oh, come on with that title. I think we're back to John now, don't you? How have you been? You look great, just great. Please, sit down.”

C.J. shifted her weight, “I don't want to take up too much of your time.”

Hoynes chuckled, “Hey, I'm the only lawyer here who doesn't have any clients yet, so I got all the time in the world. Sit, please.”

No more beating around the bush, “You should take a look at this list.” She said handing him the stack of papers.

Hoynes finally took on the seriousness of her visit and took the bundle. Putting on his glasses, he went back behind his desk and scanned the document.  
C.J. waited for him to take in what she had just handed him before she fired the shot, “If you're going to continue to try to rehabilitate yourself by throwing mud and lies at the President-”

Hoynes cut her off, gently, “C.J., you can stop. I get it. You mind if I keep this?”

Just to show him how much she already knew, she said, “Please do. You can give it to whoever's ghost-writing your book.”

Hoynes glanced up, taking off his glasses, “You can tell the President he doesn't have to worry about the book. I'm not going to try to make him look bad. I just wanted to get this scandal behind me, so I can get on with my life.”

C.J. wasn’t convinced, “Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”

Hoynes ignored her implicit accusation, “Well... I'm gonna call it Full Disclosure. What do you think? Good title?”

Taking a step forward, she knew she couldn’t leave without bringing up their past, a past she always feared might come up again, “Am I going to be in the book?”

Hoynes ignored her obvious question or what it truly meant, “Yes. Not mentioning you would be kind of strange, don't you think? I mean, next to the President and the Vice President, you're the most visible person working in the White House.”

Another step forward, “I'd prefer not to be.”

He finally acknowledged her true concern, “C.J., you've got nothing to worry about, I promise.” The truth was he wanted her out of the office. This book would be written and his career might be saved, but he needed some time to reassess this new threat from the White House. He had expected an offensive move, he had even planned for C.J.’s visit. It was down to mudslinging now and which story would prevail. He had to make sure it was his. 

When she turned to leave, he made a step to stop her, but she turned back again before he could act, “What are you going to do in the campaign when the stories start coming out?”

Hoynes glanced at the report the White House had put together on him, “Those stories?”

“No. The other women.” C.J. clarified.

He stalled, “I haven't decided to run, I really...”

She cut him off, tired of his evasiveness, “Because there have been other women, right? Lots of them, right? Because the way you came on to me... way too smooth, way too practiced.”

“C.J., that was ten years ago. I'm sorry...” He tried, stepping closer, slowly, unthreatening.

That’s when C.J. went in for the kill, the unspoken reason she had come, “When you run for President, the press is going to find some of those women. And if you try to attack them, if you get your opposition research team working on them, if you try to destroy them, if you try to say they're all bimbos and liars, then I'll be standing right there with them and I'll be ready to take anything you or your people throw at me, anything. So don't make me tell the truth about you because it will be the whole truth.”

Hoynes' tone was darker than she had ever heard it, “Don’t threaten me, C.J.”


	2. Red Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> C.J. realizes that she has conformed perfectly to Hoynes' plan while Danny and Toby come up with a plan to save face.

C.J.’s eyes came up to meet Hoynes’ immediately as she caught the hint of warning. She was about to reply when he repeated himself.

“Don’t threaten me. Not when you _are_ one of those bimbos. You’re even less credible if I release the story of what happened between us. It’s much worse to be seen as a whore than a man who sleeps around. I am more than willing to use that double standard to save myself.” His voice carried a hint of intimidation.

C.J. was not intimidated, but surprise made her have to gain her bearings again before she replied, “I think you’ll find that you’d lose any moral battle you start with me. You had to resign the Vice Presidency and are trying to unbury yourself from scandal.”

“Not if our affair was say…ongoing.” Hoynes said, his voice suggestive, “I’m divorced. It would now reflect much more poorly on _you_.”

“Excuse me?” C.J. asked, incredulous. He had finally said something that shocked her into a state of silence. Scrambling in her head, she looked for a way to fight back as his implications began to take shape in her mind. Therefore, his next words were not a surprise since she had already figured out the path he was trying to take.

“You came over here to comfort me about the backlash from White House because of the article. You had a questionable relationship with a reporter and even a Secret Service Agent. You can’t seem to work with men without an affair.” His tone had gone from friendly to aggressive in mere seconds and C.J. had to rearm.

“You’re planning a dirty campaign against me and think your word will be taken over mine?” She asked, trying to skip past the mention of Simon and the way her voice caught in her throat whenever he was mentioned. The truth was that she knew that no matter how thin his claim was, her reputation would suffer, and, by association, the President’s. She hoped her fears weren’t showing and she knew she should leave as soon as possible.  The longer she stayed, the more convincing his claim was.

“My word will be much more convincing if we simply have sex right now.”

C.J. did not respond, struck dumb by his suggestion. There would obviously be no convincing him to see reason and the only course was to go back to the White House and come up with a combative strategy. She turned to walk out. Hoynes got to the door first, however and put his hand on the knob.

“Step aside.” C.J. demanded, her voice harsh and commanding even if it held the slightest hint of anxiety.

~~~

Toby unlocked his car and both he and Danny quickly got in. They were silent as he started the car and drove off, driving enough above the speed limit for Danny to know he was in a rush and as worried as he was, but slow enough to try and avoid being a police target.

They both tensed at the first stop light, wanting to at least be in motion.

“Who told you all this? That Hoynes was planning a bigger attack than we thought?” Toby broke the silence as he tapped his thumb on the steering wheel and then punching the gas as the light finally turned green.

As a general rule, Danny did not reveal sources, so he kept it vague, “Hoynes has been talking to reporters, hinting at things, enough to get them researching and asking more questions. He’s been leading them by the nose. When I asked for an interview, he refused.” Danny was well aware that Hoynes didn’t like him, but he also wondered if his unhidden fondness for C.J. had put a sign on him that said, ‘White House Pal’ and therefore limited what people might be willing to tell him.

Toby gave him a sidelong glance, both well aware that Danny hadn’t actually answered the question, “Why haven’t we read this in the papers then? Reporters aren’t above writing conjecture if it’s juicy enough.”

“So far, what he’s given isn’t enough to get into a paper but I can read between the lines, I know where’s he’s trying to go. The digging has begun, and, after tonight, they’ll think they have enough evidence to start writing the conjectures.” Danny told him, imagining the flood of stories against the White House staff after tomorrow.

The more Danny spoke about it, the more Toby worried about the impact. He had once thought that true morality would prove itself against rumors, but no one was perfect and those imperfections were being twisted into something sinister. He had conceived children out of wedlock, which had already looked bad to the public eye, and Andi had concealed her pregnancy from the public. After the shooting, Josh’s mental state had wavered. And C.J. had slept with Hoynes, even if it was ten years ago. They weren’t robots and it pained him to know that the public expected them to be more than human.

“So, what’s the plan here?” Danny asked, taking Toby out of his head.

Toby sighed, “Hopefully she hasn’t been there that long and we walk in to make it look more like a meeting than anything private.”

“What did she have to threaten him with?” Danny wanted to know.

“Doesn’t matter. It’ll get buried if all this comes out.” Toby answered.

“You give it to me and I could release it first, try and soften the blow.”

Toby gave him a look as if to say no, but he was wondering if Danny’s idea wasn’t actually a good one. He turned the corner and the lawfirm’s building came into view. They both tensed again.


	3. Help Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hoynes proves how far he will go to reestablish his public persona in an attempt to become President.

“C.J., please.” Hoynes’ voice softened and he looked pleading and apologetic, “I never wanted to resort to such tactics, I tried to be the good guy.”

Her eyes narrowed as she noted that his hand was still on the doorknob, but she responded to his backtracking, wondering if he might see reason yet. Getting into a debate with him was no longer an option, however, and she needed that door to open for her.  Taking a calmer breath, she began, “John-” She didn't get out another word.

Completely unexpectedly, Hoynes rushed toward her, grabbing her wrist and twisting her arm, forcing her to turn away from him. Shocked by his sudden violence, C.J. found herself facing the wall as Hoynes wrenched her arms behind her back, “What the hell are you doing?” She demanded, trying to pull away from him.  John Hoynes was one of the few men taller than she, but even with her height, she had no leverage to push or pull against him.

He pulled her coat off, using his weight to keep her pinned against the wall, minimizing her efforts to struggle free, “Stop it!” C.J. shouted.  She distantly hoped that his secretary would hear and made sure her voice was loud.

Once her coat crumpled to the ground, he reached into his pocket, pressing his body against the struggling Press Secretary in order to keep her as still as possible. Pulling out a knotted scarf, he slipped it over her hands and pulled it tight, binding her wrists together behind her.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” Hoynes said, his voice an attempt at soothing.

“Let me leave, right now.” She demanded, ignoring him.

“I can’t, C.J. I’m putting my life back together.” He said in an apologetic voice, his grip on her becoming tighter, “I was ruined the moment Bartlet asked me to be The Vice President.”

C.J. felt so light headed in a panic that she took several deep breaths. At least Hoynes was talking to her, perhaps she could reason with him, “Hurting me is not going to get back at the President. It will hurt you much more. You’ll go to jail, forget ever running for office again.”

“As far as the press knows after today, we’ve been having an affair for years. You leave tonight claiming I raped you, it will just look like retaliation for the article and the book. And I’m going to do everything I can so that you bear no physical evidence.” His hot breath was hitting her ear.

“What?” C.J.’s heart was pounding painfully in her chest.

“This has to look voluntary.” He clarified.

She felt the pressure pushing her into the wall ease up but it was instantly followed by pulling. Hoynes practically threw her onto his black sofa which was against the back wall. When she tried to get up again, she found his large hands on her shoulders, pushing her back down. He was being deliberately slow and she realized it was in order not to actually hurt her.

“Hel-” She began to shout, but Hoynes’ hand covered her face.

“I’m not gonna hurt you, C.J.” He said, gently, pressing more weight on her to stop her struggling, “My assistant left, we’re the only ones here. Cleaning crew comes in three times a week and tonight’s an off night. I’d like not to have to force you to be quiet though.” His hand eased up.

“You don’t have to do this, there are other ways to get your reputation back.” She rationalized, trying to get his mind on a safer course of action or even simply stall for time.

“I kinda reached the point of no return, haven’t I, C.J.?” He asked, with an ironic smile, “Assault puts me in prison. Bartlet will destroy me for harming one of his 'family members'. If I can prove willing intercourse though, you’ll have to protect me.  Can you imagine how disappointed the President will be if he thinks you've been sleeping with me all along?”

C.J. looked at him, horrified. She would either have to report Hoynes’ assault and risk the accusation that she was lying about it, not report it at all and risk the rumors about an affair, or make herself an advocate of Hoynes to reverse the rumors. Her head spun at the reality that she would have to do her best to make it look like a rape. This was the best case scenario at this point, "He'd never believe you."

“You could enjoy it, you know?” Hoynes suggested, ignoring her statement and trying to abate the guilt he felt, “This is going to happen either way, but it doesn’t have to be a chore.” He placed a small kiss on her neck, “You seemed to enjoy yourself with me all those years ago.”

Her jaw set and her eyes grew cold, “The only way you’re not getting a fight is if I’m not conscious.” She declared indignantly, pushing against his weight with renewed determination. He pushed back harder, one hand on her chest while his other arm held down her legs. Still holding her down, he stood, only to shift his position and straddle her. Now, sitting on her body, his hands were freer.

“We’re going to go slowly.” He said, once again, in a tone that was gentle as if she truly was submitting to him willingly.

She twisted her body, trying to struggle free of him. He held her shoulders down and pressed more weight on her until she was out of breath, “Toby knows I came here. He’s going to notice it’s taking too long for me to get back.” She panted.

Just then, her phone went off, chirping the merry tune it did when it rang. They both looked toward the sound coming from her coat crumpled up on the floor.

“That doesn’t really clash with the story of our affair.” Hoynes reminded her, “And you ignoring your phone will only serve my side of the story.”

“He’ll worry, he’ll show up.” She tried, her words the only weapon she had left.

“The building is closed, he won’t be able to get in.” Hoynes assured her.

Her logic had run out, it looked very much like Hoynes had thought out every angle, “Look, you’re not past the point of no return. The President can still toss you a line.”

“And you’ll just keep this quiet?” Hoynes asked in a way that already told her that he’d never believe it. The truth was, she would not keep quiet. Had he fallen for it and let her go, she would have gone straight to the police, “I can’t risk that, C.J.”

She pulled at the silk scarf binding her wrists and tried to push against Hoynes’ weight on top of her but it only served to wear her out further, “You didn’t get into politics to hurt people, John. You did it to make a difference and lost your way. This is wrong and you won’t be able to live with it. It’s not worth it.”

“Not worth being President of the United States?” He asked, clearly disagreeing with her. He scoffed and paused. With a sigh, he began somberly, “I’m not going to hurt you. I’d like it if you enjoyed it. I mean, it would be easier.” He leaned in, clearly trying to seal the deal by kissing her, but she turned away. The kiss hit her cheek instead, “I’m a good lover, Claudia Jean, remember?” He trailed little kisses down her face and neck, still holding the rest of her body firmly in place. With his free hand, he felt his way up to the waist of her skirt, finding the zipper. Slowly, still trying to be sensual as if she were there willingly, he pulled the zipper down while still peppering her face and neck with kisses. With renewed effort, she fought to push him off of her and he was forced to use his free hand to hold her so she couldn’t move, “I’ll go slow.”


	4. At The Threshhold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toby and Danny find they can't simply barge into Hoynes' office without cause and finds out just how sadistic Hoynes can be.

Toby pulled up to the dark office building. Danny, putting his phone away, having tried to call C.J. one more time, was looking intently out the passenger side window for both the reporter whom Hoynes had called to ‘catch’ C.J. in the act and C.J. herself.

“I don’t see Cliff.” He said of the reporter who had told him about the same lead. They were friends and Cliff knew of Danny’s fondness for C.J. and thought to give him a heads up. Cliff didn’t make it a secret that he would be waiting to question C.J. about the alleged affair either though. Danny understood, you had to get the scoop where you could even if it pissed off your friends. That didn’t stop Danny from being pissed off though, “Maybe we already missed her.”

“No, there’s her car.” Toby pointed out, turning toward it and swiveling around to park.

“How long ago did she leave?” Danny wanted to know, a bad feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.

Toby knew what he was asking. Had she been here too long to simply make her point then leave? What could have caused her to stay more than a few minutes? “I don’t know, maybe forty five minutes ago.”

“Took us what, ten-fifteen minutes to drive here?”

“Yeah.” Toby conceded, both of them coming to the conclusion that there had been plenty of time for her to simply tell Hoynes their position and then leave. Yet, her car still remained. Escaping the questioning, Toby parked and got out, “We should go up.”

Danny gave him a doubtful look. Toby seemed to be hiding something, making Danny nervous, “Okay.” He said anyway.

As they approached the glass doors, Danny saw Cliff inside the foyer. He gave them a puzzled look but opened the door for them, “What are you doing here, Danny? Look, I don’t mean to be territorial, but I gave you that tip with the understanding that you wouldn’t pursue it.”

“Why are you lingering in the foyer?” Toby asked Cliff, skipping the reporter rivalries.

“Oh, I got cold and some woman came outside, so I grabbed the door before it could lock behind her.” He explained.

“You’re probably trespassing, you know.” Toby told him cooly, hoping maybe to get rid of Cliff.

“You’re not?” Cliff shot back.

“How long have you been here?” Danny cut in.

“Awhile.” Cliff answered, eying Toby, “She went up about a half hour ago. She didn’t look like someone who was about to do that man any favors, I was wondering about my tip until she didn’t come back down.”

Both Danny and Toby looked appropriately uncomfortable and Toby simply opened the door to go inside, “You’re not coming,” He told Cliff.

Cliff looked glum, but didn’t follow, especially after Danny gave him a look.

“I know what you must be thinking, but you’re wrong.” Toby said punching the elevator button, now suddenly determined that there was no way C.J. was having an affair with Hoynes, “She would never compromise the White House for a fling, not even if she liked the man and she doesn’t like Hoynes.” Toby gave him a meaningful look. They both knew that C.J. pushed aside feelings for Danny to be able to do her job effectively.

“Yeah, I know.” Danny admitted as they both boarded the elevator, “So, she’s just having a hard time convincing him that your dirt is worse than his dirt.”

“Maybe.” Toby said, quietly. They rode the rest of the way in silence and the elevator dinged and they stepped out into the dark hallway.

“We can’t just barge in,” Danny whispered before they took another step, “She’ll be mad that we didn’t think she could handle it by herself.”

That made Toby pause, “We’ll just tell her about the reporter, she will understand why we came." A pause, "We’ll give it some time.” He amended, finding that he agreed with Danny. Both men stood awkwardly outside in the hall, waiting.

 

~~~

C.J. was feeling light headed and anemic. Hoynes was not kidding when he said he was going to go slow. It was becoming an endurance war and he obviously had the advantage. Every new thing he did, be it unbuttoning her shirt or touching a new place, she would resist and thrash until she was out of breath. It was taking less and less time for her to get out of breath.

His hand had been grappling over her camisole hungrily and she started the fight again as he changed tactics and trailed his fingers up her thigh to delve beneath her skirt. He was patient and waited for her to fight it out before moving further up, “I see you’ve stayed in good shape. You’ll understand, C.J., that I can’t use any sort of protection. Perhaps I’ll get really lucky and you’ll get pregnant. Talk about proof." He added, almost to himself.

This statement almost made her break and she felt her stomach lurch in horror. The relief she felt when he removed his hand quickly passed as he dipped the hand beneath the front of her skirt, delving beneath her nylons and panties and invading with a finger.

C.J. now pleaded, “Stop, John, stop it!”


	5. Burden of Proof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How far will Hoynes go to ruin the reputation of the White House staff?

Moments passed and Danny couldn’t help himself, he quietly leaned toward the door, listening for voices, hoping to hear C.J.’s angry voice directed at Hoynes. He heard a muffled and hushed male voice and was shocked to hear C.J.’s voice, though he couldn't make out what she was saying through the door, in a tone of imploring that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He couldn’t quite place it, but something was wrong. He promptly knocked on the door, looking back at Toby to show him that he was concerned, “Mr. Vice President?” He called.

~~~

There was a knock at the door and Hoynes’ hand covered C.J.'s mouth instantly. He pressed into her body hard, to keep her as still as possible. It was all she could do to pull in breath.

“Mr. Vice President?” It was Danny’s voice muffled a little by the door but unmistakable. C.J. could barely believe that he was there but there was no time to wonder how or why he was, she needed him to walk through that door. Hoynes seemed to have frozen, unable to act in order to get this wrench out of his plan.

Seemingly too polite to just barge in, Danny stayed on the wrong side of the door. C.J. silently plead with him not to leave as she tried to jerk away from the hand that kept her from speaking. Catching sight of a lamp that sat on an end table behind Hoynes, she pushed the leg of the table with the toe of her shoe. The table teetered and the lamp came crashing down.

Hoynes’ grip loosened for a split second as he turned toward the noise and C.J. pulled her face away from his hand.

“Danny!”

The hand clamped back down again but the damage was already done.

 

Danny had his hand on the door knob when he heard the crash. He looked back at Toby to see if he was behind him but it was the sound of C.J.’s voice calling his name an instant later that made his rush into the room. What he saw in the dim light was a shock he had not expected. Hoynes was straddling a struggling C.J. and her face was nearly covered by his hand. Her wide eyes were frightened and beseeching as they locked with his.

“What the hell?” Danny demanded, rushing forward, Toby at his side.

Hoynes backed off immediately, putting his hands up defensively. Toby and Danny pulled him forcefully off of the Press Secretary and Hoynes didn't struggle as they shoved him away, resulting in a stumble.   
  
Toby put himself between C.J. and Hoynes, rounding on the latter. “What the hell are you doing?!” He shouted at the former Vice President, who was just getting to his feet.

Danny helped C.J. sit up and, realizing that her wrists were actually tied together, had to swallow his outrage for the moment. He gave Hoynes a glare and loosened the knot in the scarf and C.J. pulled her hands free.  With shaking hands, she tugged her shirt together and began to button it. Danny watched her intently, looking for injury or a moment where she would need his help.  She stayed sitting, not trusting her legs just yet.

“What can I say, she likes that bondage stuff, Toby, we were just having a little fun,” Hoynes said, obviously trying to spin the story to his advantage like he had planned from the beginning. His hands were up defensively.

Toby felt the blood rush to his face but Danny blew past him, rushing towards Hoynes. Toby grabbed Danny’s shoulders and pulled him back before he could attack Hoynes. The last thing that they needed to throw into Hoynes’ cache of ammunition was an assault charge.

“Let’s all just calm down and talk about this.” Hoynes suggested, having backed up when Danny came at him.

C.J. stood, holding her skirt into place and zipping it back up, “I don’t think so.” She walked directly out of the office, eager to be free of Hoynes’ presence. Dropping the front as soon as she was out of sight, she pulled in deep breaths, fighting off the previous panic and feeling her body tremor. Seeing a water cooler down the hall, she took a paper cup and filled it. Drawing her shaky hand up, she took a long drink, filled the cup again and drained it again. Leaning on the wall, she waited for her heart to stop pounding.

Danny glanced back to see C.J. walk out of the office. Her confident tone calmed him a little and he gave Hoynes a cold stare before following. He found her much more frazzled than she had let on before, leaning on the wall for support, an empty paper cup in her hand, and her breathing ragged.

“C.J.?” He said gently as he approached.

She turned, but her eyes shifted behind him as Toby approached. He handed her the coat he had recognized and picked up off the floor.

“Thanks.” She said, softly.

“What happened in there?” Toby asked bluntly, never one for comforting others.

“I need a minute, Toby.” She answered, “Can we just get out of here first?” She didn’t wait for his reply and headed for the elevator crumbling the cup and tossing it into the garbage. Toby followed with Danny bringing up the rear. The elevator hadn’t moved from that floor since they arrived and opened immediately. Just as the trio got inside and turned to face the doors, Hoynes walked out of his office.

“This will ruin your reputation too, C.J.” He warned.

C.J. didn’t respond but didn’t break his eye contact as the doors closed, “I need to make a report.” She said to Toby.

“We can call an officer into the White House.” Toby told her.

“Are you hurt?” Danny asked, finally, realizing that Toby wasn’t planning to.

“No.” C.J. answered quickly.

There was a long moment of silence as they reached the first floor. The doors opened with a ding.

“Do you want me to tell the President?” Toby asked as they stepped out.

“We’ll have to.”

“What exactly do I tell the President?” Toby wanted to know.

C.J. sighed slowly, “That John Hoynes assaulted me. If he wants more details, he’ll have to read the police report, I don’t want to retell the story too many times.” She stopped short when she saw Cliff. Toby and Danny had forgotten about him in the confusion of what had just happened.

Danny picked up speed to get in front of the group, “I’ll take care of him.” He offered, pushing the door open and talking to his friend in a hushed voice.  With hands in her pockets, C.J waited silently and awkwardly with Toby.

“Why did you come? How did you know?” C.J. asked, suddenly, wondering how they both ended up in the right place and time to prevent Hoynes from finishing what he had started.

“Danny had heard some rumors that Hoynes was going to try to drag the White House through scandal and suspected you had been set up.”  
C.J. looked away from him as she took in his words. She had been set up. The thought gnawed at her.

“We thought he’d make claims, that he would talk, we didn’t know he was going to…” Toby let his own words trail off.

“I know.” C.J. said, not really wanting him to finish his statement anyway.

“You’re Okay?” Toby said, stepping a little closer, in his version of support.

C.J. finally looked at him, “No.” She said, softly.

Toby stayed silent, allowing her to say what she was going to say, his eyes intent.

“There’s no proof.” She said, after a moment of silence.

“Danny and I saw it. Don’t let him make you think that he can ruin your reputation with this.”

"He's going to try." She said, her eyes brimmed with tears that never fell.


	6. Reactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toby must tell the President of Hoynes' actions while a shaken C.J. phones the police.

C.J. had insisted on driving herself back to the White House, which she found was a mistake at the first intersection. Distracted and still shaky, she barely noticed a car turning left right into her. She hit the breaks in time and tried to concentrate on driving the rest of the way. Practically willing Danny and Toby not to say anything about her driving faux pas, she stepped out of the car before they were parked and waited for them at the gate. They were silent and awkward as they made their way back into the West Wing.

“Give Danny the list so he can release it.” C.J. said, walking toward her office, “We should strike first.”

Danny glanced at Toby. It was not lost on either of them that this was the same suggestion Danny had, but that was before they had walked into Hoynes’ office tonight.

“C.J., Hoynes has nothing, we caught him-”

She interrupted, “It doesn’t matter, he’ll try to spin it. You heard him. He was going to make it look like-”

“I know.” Toby said, saving her from having to say it.

“I’ll give it to Cliff. I owe him one.” Danny said, his voice low.

“We should really run that by the President first.” Toby interjected.

C.J. stopped in her tracks, the last thing she wanted to do was tell the President what had happened. In the great scheme of running the country, she didn’t want to be a distraction. Hating the attention, she didn’t want to be a story either, “I’d appreciate it if you took care of that, Toby.”

They both knew what she was asking. The President wouldn’t have to father her if she wasn’t in the room. Toby would be blunt and direct and tell him in the quickest cleanest sweep possible.

“Alright.” He said tentatively, letting her know he had understood the full meaning. He was to tell the President what happened as well as mention the counter strike, “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to call the police.” She didn’t wait for either one of them to answer or comment, she just walked toward her office. Dropping her purse and phone into one of the chairs facing her desk, she dropped into her chair. Hesitating a moment, knowing the consequences of the call she was about to make, she picked up the phone.

~~~

“Charlie, I need to see him.” Toby was standing outside the Oval office and was thankful that Charlie was still at his desk. It meant that The President was still at his.

“He’s just about to head out, Toby, so-”

“It’s important.” Toby interrupted, his tone severe.

“One minute.” Charlie said, looking more curious than annoyed now.

Toby waited impatiently until Charlie waved him in.

“Toby, make this quick, Abbey thinks I make up excuses when I can’t get to the Residence by ten, as if I want to be staring at your face rather than hers.”

“Mr. President, I need to tell you about a disturbing chain of events that happened this evening.”

President Bartlet’s humor dropped, “What happened?” He asked, sitting in the chair in front of the two couches. Toby sat as well.

“C.J. went to Hoynes tonight in hopes of privately staving off any rumors he plans to sling at the White House in his attempt restore his name in the eyes of the public.”

“Yeah, Leo mentioned something about that.” President Bartlet confirmed.

“I stumbled upon Danny Concannon about an hour ago trying to warn C.J. that Hoynes set up a reporter outside his building to write a story about an alleged affair that Hoynes claims they are having.”

The President sat back, his face obviously surprised.

Toby went on, “According to Danny, Hoynes has been sprinkling stories about everyone on the staff in order to paint himself as the most honest amongst us.”

“Leo said we had our own arsenal against Hoynes. Is he planning a mudslinging campaign this early in the game? Does he think his reputation can hold out against that list C.J. had?”

“He had something up his sleeve that no one could see, sir.” When Toby knew he had gotten the President’s attention again, he continued, “Danny and I went over to Hoynes’ law office in order to keep the meeting from looking too private.”

The President nodded, clearly approving of their plan, but Toby didn’t allow him to comment, plowing through the next bit in order to get it all out.

“We arrived and found Hoynes was-” Toby cleared his throat, “He was assaulting C.J., Mr. President. Danny and I pulled him off of her and we left. She wasn’t hurt, she came back with us and is making a report.”

“Hoynes assaulted C.J.?” The President stood, his tone was incredulous, “You mean he physically attacked her?”

“Yes, sir. When Danny and I arrived, he was restraining her. I think we entered fairly early in the attack, sir and avoided any injury.”

President Bartlet had drifted in a daze, ending up behind his desk again. His jaw was set as he processed what he had just heard, “She wasn’t hurt?”

“No, sir.” Toby said again, having begun the conversation that way in order to keep the President from becoming too concerned to listen to the rest of the story, “She’s in her office now, making a police report.”

“Why would Hoynes do something like this? He has to know the consequences.” The President wondered out loud.

Toby had a theory, “I think he wanted to make it look like an affair, sir.”

The President looked away from Toby, seemingly studying the floor, “You think this was a sexual assault?”

“Yes, sir.” Toby answered, quickly. The silence that followed was palpable and Toby could see the President’s fury boiled just below the surface. He understood the feeling.

“This is almost unthinkable. What on Earth was Hoynes thinking?”

“C.J. was reluctant to tell me much more than I saw with my own eyes. I have more questions as well, sir, but I think we’ll have to wait for answers until she makes a police report.”

President Bartlet nodded, “How’s she doing?”

“She’s a bit shaken up, I think, but she seems unharmed.”

“Where’s Danny?”

“Waiting in my office.”


	7. Exposed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> C.J. and the White House have to weigh anonymity versus prosecution as Hoynes will not go down without a fight.

C.J. met the police officers in the lobby in order to wave them past security. There was a middle aged man with blonde hair, his uniform perfectly fitted around his slightly rounded belly. A woman accompanied him, and C.J. guessed that this was because of the nature of the report. She was even rounder than her counterpart, but her face was careworn and friendly even as she looked professional in her uniform. Her black hair was held tightly behind her head in a small bun. C.J. shook both of their hands and introduced herself, learning that their names were Officer Tomlin and Officer Jensen, before leading them back to her office. Glancing in the direction of the Oval Office as they walked, she felt a jolt of discomfort at the conversation she knew was taking place there right now. Sitting at her desk, the two officers sat as well, waiting.

She told her story, exactly as it happened and not leaving anything out. Recalling the details was not easy, saying them aloud even less so. They could not be left out, however, and they could not afford to delay.

“You want to press charges then?” Officer Jensen asked, her tone almost willing C.J. to say yes.

C.J. hesitated, knowing that she would be ruining Hoynes’ career, knowing that he had ruined it himself the second he attacked her. She swallowed, “Yes.”

“Mr. Zeigler and Mr. Concannon should give us their information as well. We have enough for an arrest here, but we’ll need to interview them if we’re pressing charges.”

“They’re both here, you can talk to them now.” C.J. suggested.

Jensen looked at Tomlin, “I’ll put out the APB on Hoynes and you can interview Mr. Zielger and Mr. Concannon.”

Tomlin gave her a curt nod and C.J. showed them both out of her office and headed toward Toby’s.

“I need a warrant for Vice President John Hoynes for Sexual Assualt.” C.J. heard Jensen say into her radio as she began to walk out of the West Wing. The words seemed surreal.

She stopped short, seeing the President in the doorway of Toby’s office, talking to Toby and Danny. He turned, having heard her and Officer Tomlin approaching. Officer Tomlin looked a little nervous at the unexpected meeting.

Before C.J. could speak, President Bartlet approached her, “You’re alright?” He asked in his fatherly tone. He searched her face but she had steeled it against what had happened and looked at him squarely.

“Yes, Mr. President.” She assured him, "Officer Tomlin would like to speak with Toby and Danny." She said, trying to change the subject.

Toby peeked his head out of the office, "Please, come in."

"We'll have to do it one at a time, Mr. Zeigler." Officer Tomlin was doing a admirable job staying professional in front of the President of the United States whom he had just run into in the White House investigating an assault on one of his senior staff members. 

Toby stepped out and invited the officer inside his office to talk to Danny.  Danny lanced out at C.J. as the officer sat and they began talking as Toby closed the door behind him. 

C.J. looked awkwardly toward Toby and The President, who was still eying her with concern.  Thankfully, Toby stepped in, "We should leak that list."

C.J. was grateful that Toby was getting down to business instead of focusing on her potential trauma, "Danny said he wanted to give it to Cliff.  I'll get it together for him.  I don't think we should make any statements until we're asked and then we should be as vague as possible, steering reporters toward the police report."

"Your name will be on the police report." Toby pointed out.

"I don't want you exposed to a bunch o tabloid attention over this." The President interjected.

"Unless I don't press any charges, I'm afraid privacy is ultimately out of the question." C.J. said without skipping a beat, "But, we're alright for now."

Both men gave her questioning looks.

~~~

It didn't take long.  The news crews sniffed out the story of Hoynes' arrest almost immediately and C.J. sat in her office watching the report on her TV. 

_"Former Vice President John Hoynes, _who resigned from The White House because of a sex scandal_ , was taken into police custody this evening on charges of sexual assault.  His victim, who remains unknown until police can investigate the case, is pressing charges."_

C.J. sighed and turned away from the monitor.  Hearing herself referred to as Hoynes' victim was disconcerting to say the least. Against her will, the event played in her mind again for what seemed like an endless preview of a horror film.  Blowing out a breath, she stood, needing a distraction.  

Danny tapped on the doorframe just then, his interview apparently over.  She had been left relatively alone, The President and Toby getting the hint that she didn't really want to talk about it. 

"Hey." He said, gently, "How ya doing?"

"I'm okay." She said, unconvincingly, trying to back it up with a small smile, "I'll be okay when I can get home." She amended, leaning on the front of her desk and facing the door.  The truth was though, she could have gone home before now and didn't want to.

Danny hung out in the doorway a moment longer before taking a tentative step inside, "You should go home then."

C.J. had sort of wished that Danny might see through her and offer to go to a late dinner or something.  Danny was trying to be helpful and men took everything at face value, "I know, I just feel strange.  I don't want anyone to think I'm going home because of what happened, like I'm not up for it."

"It's 12:45." Danny informed her, his voice incredulous, "Pretty sure if you go home now, everyone will think it's really late and, like anyone else, you need sleep."

"Toby's still here." C.J. pointed out.

"Only because he's still talking to the police."

C.J. sighed, "I'm just still kinda wired."  That was putting it mildly.  Her mind would certainly not rest tonight.

"That's understandable." Danny paused, "Well, we could go grab some food."

C.J. gave him a small smile.


End file.
